The documents purports to define the compunding under FEMA

1. COMPOUNDING PROCEDURE
UNDER FEMA
By :CA. Sudha G. Bhushan

2. COMPOUNDING UNDER FEMA
There have been framed
the procedure for Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules,
compounding of 2000 have been published by the Government of India
contraventions under empowering the Reserve Bank to compound
Foreign Exchange
contraventions under FEMA, 1999.
Management Act, 1999 by
Reserve Bank of India with
a view to provide comfort to The provisions of Section 15 of FEMA, 1999 permit
the citizens and corporate compounding of contraventions and empower the
community by minimizing Compounding Authority* to compound any contravention
transaction costs, while as defined under Section 13 of the Act on an application
taking severe view of willful, made by the person committing such contravention either
mala fide and fraudulent
before or after the institution of adjudication proceedings.
transactions.
*(1) Compounding Authority" means the persons authorised by the
Any contravention under Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 15 of the Act,
FEMA leads to upon namely;
adjudication penalty of
(a) An officer of the Enforcement Directorate not below the rank of
# up to thrice the sum Deputy Director or Deputy Legal Adviser (DLA).
involved in such
(b) An officer of the Reserve Bank of India not below the rank of the
contravention where the Assistant General Manager.
amount is quantifiable or
# up to Rupees Two lakh,
The Government of India has, in consultation with the
where the amount is not
Reserve Bank placed the responsibilities of administering
quantifiable and
compounding of cases with the Reserve Bank, except under
# where the contravention Section 3(a) of FEMA, 1999.
is a continuing one, further
penalty which may extend  Reserve Bank of India- empowered to compound the
to Rupees Five thousand contraventions of all the Sections of FEMA, 1999,
for every day after the first except clause (a) of Section 3 of the Act.
day during which the
contravention continues [The Reserve Bank generally advises the persons concerned
of their choice and option to make an application for
compounding as and when such contraventions come to its
notice. The facts constituting such contraventions will be
brought to the notice of the Directorate of Enforcement in
By CA. Sudha G. Bhushan |

3. case no application for compounding is made within the time indicated by the Reserve
Bank. ]
 (Directorate of Enforcement - powers of compounding under clause (a) of Section 3 of
FEMA, 1999 (dealing essentially with Hawala transactions).
Process of Compounding
1. A duly completed application (in duplicate) for compounding of a contravention under
FEMA, 1999 may be submitted to the Compounding Authority (CA) on being advised of
a contravention under FEMA, 1999, either through a memorandum or suo moto on
being made or on becoming aware of the contravention. The format “Form” of the
application is appended to the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules,
2000 (Annexed).
2. The application for compounding has to be submitted together with relevant facts and
supporting documents and a copy of the memorandum, wherever applicable.
3. Prescribed fee of Rs.5000/- is payable by way of a demand draft drawn in favour of
“Reserve Bank of India” and payable at the centre where the application shall be
processed/was processed and the compounding order was issued.
4. The application may be submitted with to: The Compounding Authority, [Cell for
Effective implementation of FEMA (CEFA)], Foreign Exchange Department, 3rd floor,
Amar Building, Sir P.M. Road, Fort, Mumbai- 400001 or as advised in the memorandum
issued by the office of the Reserve Bank.
5. The applicant must indicate the following information about the authorized person of the
entity who would be handling the complete process of the compounding :
• Name and Designation of the authorised person for the contravener
• Telephone/Fax/Email of the authorized person.
• Details of the contravener e.g. date of incorporation, ownership pattern, activity,
transaction etc. may be provided.( In column-6 of the Form (Brief facts of the
case).
6. The contravener/applicant shall specify the details of the contraventions sought to be
compounded in column-5 [according to sub-section (1) of Section 13] explicitly and
By CA. Sudha G. Bhushan |

4. expressly i.e. the provision of the FEMA, or Rule, Regulation, Direction or order issued
in exercise of the powers under the FEMA, or condition subject to which an authorization
was issued by the Reserve Bank.
7. The contravener/applicant shall also specify / describe in the application the details/facts
(e.g. date, amount (in Indian Rupees), parties involved etc.) of the transaction for which
the contravention has occurred.
8. Incomplete applications shall be liable to rejection by the Reserve Bank and appropriate
action for the contravention of the FEMA shall be taken accordingly.
9. The gravity and nature of the contravention would be assessed by the compounding
authority on the basis of information/document submitted together with the application.
10. Non-submission of relevant information/document during the processing of the
compounding application would be considered as willful and intentional suppression of
the material fact and the compounding application would be liable for rejection and
appropriate action for contravention under the FEMA.
11. Communications and orders issued under the compounding process shall be served on
the authorised person in any of the following manners, which are to say by
fax/Courier/Registered Post by sending it to the address/information given in the
compounding application.
12. The sum for which the contravention is compounded as specified in the order of
compounding is payable by way of a demand draft in favour of the “Reserve Bank of
India” within fifteen days from the date of the order of compounding of such
contravention. The demand draft has to be deposited in the manner as directed in the
compounding order.
13. On realization of the sum for which contravention is compounded a certificate is issued
by the Reserve Bank subject to the specified conditions, if any, in the order.
14. Contraventions relating to any transaction where proper approvals or permission from
the Government or statutory authority concerned, as the case may be, have not been
obtained, such contraventions would not be compounded unless the required approvals
are obtained from the authorities concerned.
On receipt of the application for compounding, the proceedings would be concluded and
order issued by the CA within 180 days from the date of the receipt of the application.
The order of CA has to be speaking order and an opportunity of being heard is required to
be given to the applicant. The application once made cannot be withdrawn.
By CA. Sudha G. Bhushan |

5. Annex Format of Application
Form (See Rule 4 or 5) (To be filled in duplicate and shall be accompanied by certified copy of
the Memorandum issued)
1. Name of the applicant (in BLOCK LETTERS)
2. Full address of the applicant (including Phone and Fax Number and email id)
3. Whether the applicant is resident in India or resident outside India [Please refer to
Section 2(v) of the Act]
4. Name of the Adjudicating Authority before whom the case is pending
5. Nature of the contravention [according to sub-section (1) of Section 13]
6. Brief facts of the case
7. Details of fee for application of compounding
8. Any other information relevant to the case
I/We declare that the particulars given above are true and correct to the best of my/our
knowledge and belief and that I/We am/are willing to accept any direction/order of the
Compounding Authority in connection with compounding of my/our case.
Dated: (Signature of the Applicant)
Name
For text: - http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_CircularIndexDisplay.aspx?Id=5773
By CA. Sudha G. Bhushan |

6. DISCLAIMER
The analysis/views in this booklet do not purport to be and should not be treated as legal opinion.
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By CA. Sudha G. Bhushan |